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Pettersen was born in Oslo, Norway,
and was a successful amateur golfer. She is a five-time Norwegian Amateur
Champion (1996–2000), and won the British Girls Championship in 1999. She
represented Norway in the Espirito Santo Trophy World Amateur Team
Championship in 1998 and 2000, becoming World Amateur Champion in her second
appearance. She also represented Europe in the 1997 and 1999 Junior Ryder Cup
Matches.
Pettersen turned professional in September 2000, at age
19, and gained her Ladies European Tour card with an 11th place finish at the
2001 LET Qualifying School. In her 2001 rookie season, she played in ten events
without missing a cut. In her second start as a professional, Pettersen won the
Open de France Dames in a playoff over Becky Morgan.
She finished second on the Order of Merit and was named LET Rookie of the Year.
Pettersen started 2002 with a playoff loss to Karrie Webb
in the AAMI Australian Women’s Open,
and two more top ten finishes led to her winning a place on the European team
for the 2002 Solheim Cup. In the singles, Suzann was
five down with five to play and rescued a half-point for Europe.
She tied for 10th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn exempt status for the
2003 LPGA season.
In 2003 Pettersen played in five events on the LET,
missing no cuts and finished runner-up to Sophie Gustafson
at the HP Open. She played a full rookie season on the LPGA, her best finish
being a third place at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship. She was a
captain's pick for the 2003 Solheim Cup and recorded an impressive
4–1–0 record as a member of the victorious European Team.
At the start of 2007 she recorded her then-best finish on
the LPGA Tour, second place. A late collapse at the Kraft Nabisco saw her equal that finish,
her second best at a major, as Morgan
Pressel took advantage to win. Pettersen became the first Norwegian
LPGA winner at the 2007 Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill.
Pettersen followed up this win by capturing the second major championship of
2007, the LPGA Championship, by one stroke over Karrie Webb,
which moved her up to fourth in the Women's World Golf Rankings. On the Ladies European Tour she won the SAS Masters in her native
Norway. October 2007 was a very successful month for Pettersen. At the Longs Drugs Challenge she won her third
LPGA victory, beating Lorena Ochoa in a playoff, whilst her Asian trip saw her
collect wins number four and five in Korea and Thailand.
On 31 December 2007, Pettersen reached the number two position in the Women's
World Golf Rankings, surpassing Karrie Webb
and Annika Sörenstam, trailing only Lorena Ochoa.